Could The Lakers Actually Lose Game 7?

On Twitter last night, one of Eddie Maisonet, III’s followers broke down the levels of grief for a Los Angeles Lakers fan. Of course they ran the gamut from blaming players to bringing up the 16 banners hanging in Staples Center but Game 6 in Denver told us plenty and left open a treasure chest of questions going into tomorrow night’s Game 7.

Andrew Bynum, man child and the dominant figure who took Game 1 for the Lake Show has been “quiet” through the other five games, barely registering a dent in the 17 point loss last night. Same for Pau Gasol who if you’ve been stat watching combines with Bynum to have the second most shots for the Lakers this series. The two of them. Combined. Who has the most? Kobe Bryant.

Unlike Melo in New York, Kobe has gotten the instinct of scaring the crap out of everyone in La La Land who doesn’t please him down to a science. It makes everyone better. Jordan did it with the Bulls, Kobe’s doing it here. Playing with a serious case of bubble guts, the Mamba was efficient last night picking up 31 points on 13 of 23 shooting (that’s 57 percent for the non-math wizzes). Problem is, none of the other Lakers showed up. Were they sick too? Were they thinking, “Let’s just World Peace back for Game 7, we’ll be fine?” Have they really considered the fact that they, a squad who happens to have the biggest front court left in the playoffs is getting outhustled and outworked by a rookie and a wunderkind who’s untapped potential has usually led to more boneheaded moves than spectacular ones?

And has Bynum really just given into the fact he’s supremely talented so he need not even really try to give a damn about the fact the Lakers have failed on two straight occasions to squash the Nuggets?

Here’s the scarier question – what if the Lakers actually lose Game 7? Do they blow everything up and ship Bynum off to Orlando for DH12? Does Mike Brown get the axe and the Godfather package gets shipped to Phil Jackson? Do the Lakers roll the dice and somehow get John Wall out of Washington and outfit themselves with a scary young nucleus of Bynum & Wall ala Magic & Kareem (position wise not actually career potential wise)? Here’s what I do know, the Nuggets are officially in the “we can’t lose” realm of basketball at the moment. They’ve gone all in in two straight games and cannot be shook any further. No pressure is on them because everyone expects them to lose. The Lakers? It would be Defcon 1 in one faction of LA basketball fans if they lose on Saturday night.

Even moreso, the last time Kobe Bryant faced a Game 7 on a Saturday? 2006 when his Laker squad that featured Smush Parker (!) dropped a 3-1 series lead to a Phoenix Suns squad and got its doors blown off by 31. Justin Tinsley broke down Kobe’s history with Game 7s and aside from two early Kobe moments during the Lakers three-peat from 2000-02, it hasn’t been pretty individually. We need not bring up the 2008 Finals or the close to 2010 where Ron Artest bailed the Lakers out, Pau Gasol had a monster game not having to worry about Kendrick Perkins and Bean went … 6 for 24.

Let’s hope whatever efficiency Kobe had while being sick Thursday night carries over to Saturday. Otherwise Twitter will look like a warzone with purple and gold jerseys laying in 140 character caskets.

About The Author

Brandon Caldwell is the founder & editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream. His work has appeared in VIBE, UPROXX, Complex, EBONY, the Village Voice, the Houston Press, Houston Style Magazine, DJBooth, The Sports Fans Journal, and more. Follow him on Twitter: @_brandoc